Early Renaissance versus High Renaissance

¶ … Renaissance vs. High Renaissance

The early Renaissance lasted approximately across the fifteenth century in Italy. The high Renaissance followed in the late fifteenth and into the sixteenth century, and then this historical period spread north to France, the Netherlands, Germany, and England over the course of another century. The list of superlative examples of art from this period is long, but two works of art are famous for representing the unique characteristics of the Renaissance. Donatello's second sculpture of David (c.1440) and Raphael's fresco Scuola di Atene ("School of Athens") (1511) exemplify the formal features of composition of the early and high Renaissance, and reflect the prevailing themes of Renaissance philosophy and religion.

Donatello's David can be found in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence today. It depicts a young, smug boy standing on the gigantic head of a slewn Goliath. David is made of smooth bronze, and the figure wears a wreathed cap while laying his sword down. While Michaelangelo's sculpture of the same character is standing in anticipation of the fight with Goliath, this David has just finished the battle. Having decapitated his adversary, the young man is relaxed and self-assured. Donatello produced two prominent sculptures of David, the character from the biblical book of Samuel, one in marble and one in bronze. David broke ground in depicting male nudes, a practice that had not been in vogue since classical times. In fact, this sculpture is regarded as the very first male nude depicted in Europe since the classical period!

Raphael's high Renaissance masterpiece can be found in a privileged spot in the Apostolic Palace of Vatican City. The form of this painting features linear symmetry and broad, environmental lighting. Yet most importantly, perspective defines this work as a definitive high Renaissance work. One can identify this work as a Raphael by noticing the incredible detail on people's faces, each uniquely drawn to add character to the composition. One the right is a statue of Athena, god of wisdom, light, and the city. On the left is Apollo, sun god, holding a lyre. Arching over the top of the painting is a great, wide semi-circle in a space resembling a basilica annex.

Philosophy in the Middle Ages was obsessed with the analytical procedures of Aristotle, whose treatises on many subjects generally worked inductively, determining truth from other truths. A feature of the high Renaissance was the shift towards Platonic thought, but also a continued influence by papal authority. In The School of Athens, Raphael has drawn a portrait of classical philosophy but sanctified it by putting theists and atheists alike in a religious setting.

Thematically, The School of Athens presents Renaissance Humanism, linking the Athenian scene of people together in a fluid, personal picture. The personalities of each philosopher mix in a jumble of activity and motion. Whereas classical Greek philosophy rose in importance, it was qualified by a new reverence for the human being. Pre- and early Renaissance art in Western Europe did not focus on the divinity of man, but in a period of immense cultural growth, the supremacy of mankind over nature and death characterized expression. For Raphael, the staging of an Athenian intellectual scene in a contemporary church connoted respect for the past and the immortality of the human spirit.